Companionship of the Strangest Variety
by Quick-n-Popular
Summary: AU. A hollow had killed him. Now, Ichigo Kurosaki finds himself in the Soul Society. Once there, he finds many new challenges: His mother, Soul Reaper Academy, and being the obsession for a strange short-haird girl. IchigoxKiyone. R & R.
1. One really bad day

**Companionship of the Strangest Variety**

By Quick-n-Popular

Disclaimer: "Bleach" and all its characters are properties of Tite Kubo-sama. I own only the characters I create for the purpose of telling this story.

Chapter One: One really bad day

Ichigo Kurosaki, age fifteen, was having a bad day, today. Just before his usual start of the day, he had found some skater punks who had knocked over a little girl's memorial offering in the place where she had died. Sure, it was an honest mistake on their part, but their carelessness and attitude disregarding what they had done enraged Ichigo. After of fifteen minutes of pummeling their faces, they had made their, albeit forced, apologies. The soul of the little girl who had died on that street corner thanked Ichigo, which Ichigo brushed aside as he felt this was something she deserved. He then promised to return with some flowers to replace the ones the skater boys had trashed.

Later on, after school, Ichigo returned to replace the flowers only to find the spirit wasn't there. Calling for her for a minute or so, Ichigo then decided to go looking for her and in the process heard a resounding crash followed by a bone-chilling, inhumane, howl.

Upon reaching the location where the sound had came from, Ichigo found the same little girl's spirit that he had been searching for being chased by a monstrous figure. Its body was a dull gray, shaped like a praying mantis; its head had on it a white mask with soulless eyes. It had on it an almost perverse, leering, toothy smile.

Ichigo caught up to the girl spirit and began running beside her. He began asking her what was going on and what was the thing that was pursuing them. To no avail, though, as the girl had no answers as to who or what was chasing them. Then, something even more bizarre happened. From out of nowhere, a girl, looking to be around Ichigo's own age, dressed in a black kimono uniform, armed with a katana; jumped up to an impossible height and proceeded to slash down through the head of the monstrous being that had been pursuing them. After the blade had been sheathed, the monster had begun to disintegrate until it was no longer there.

Ichigo could only gape at what he had just seen. The mysterious girl turned to look at him for just a brief moment before truing away and then seemingly vanish. Ichigo called out for her and then, noticing that she was no longer by his side, the little girl's spirit. People surrounding the area began talking animatedly about the destruction of the area and associating it to the gas explosions that had been happening around the area.

Ichigo sighed and then decided to just go home, thinking along the way about the weirdness of all that he had experienced in that short brief time. He had thought it had all been over, that this day would end as the others did. Boy, was he wrong.

Just this evening, after dinner, Ichigo had been sitting in his room contemplating on the strangeness of all that had happened earlier in the afternoon, when he was disrupted by his thoughts by another loud vicious howl coming close to his home…

Ichigo sat up immediately, sweat began to build up at the base of his temples as his eyes widened.

He looked out his window as a threatening thought came to his mind. '_Is one of those things coming here?'_

A resounding crash that shook the house followed shortly after his last thought, his body immediately sprung into action and ran for his door. Opening it, he found one of his younger sisters, Karin, on the floor, half of her face coated in blood and numerous bruises surrounding her face and her arms.

"I…Ichigo…good, you aren't hurt…" She weakly gasped out before passing out.

"Karin! Karin!" He lifted her up and cradled her body as he gently shook her to try and get her to awake once again. All that would come out of her were ragged gasps and then nothing. A loud echoing, screaming, sound coming from outside the house caused Ichigo to quickly set down his unconscious sister and bolt for the stairs.

Upon reaching the landing, Ichigo found a large hole in the wall, the house in utter disarray, and his father's bleeding form lying face down on the floor.

Hearing the unsettling screaming again, this time recognizing it to be his other sister, Yuzu, and abandoning the urge to check his father's condition; Ichigo ran through the hole in the wall to the outside and found his sister suspended in mid-air in the hand of one of those monstrous things.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ichigo! Help!" She cried out.

Ichigo looked wildly about for anything he could use to get his sister out from the clutches of that monster and found Karin's baseball bat lying in the grass near him. Grabbing it and then making a maddened-dash towards the evil that held his sister, Ichigo meant to swing at the hand that held his sister that was within swinging range. However, the beast, realizing that another was near and fast approaching; swug the same fist holding Ichigo's sister and smacked Ichigo a couple dozen yards away from it.

The eyes seemed to glimmer, if they could, as it sniffed the air and then immediately tossed the frail form of Yuzu to the side as it began approaching the staggering form of Ichigo who was in the process of getting back up.

"**_I found you!_**" It spoke in almost same volumes that were appropriate to its gigantic size.

Ichigo, still clutching the bat and using it to bring himself back up to his feet, glared at the monster while at the same time mentally sighing out of relief that Yuzu was no longer in its possession.

"Coward!" Ichigo spat as he painfully brought himself back up to his height. "Quit attacking my family. It's me you want, isn't it? Well then." He then gripped the bat tightly in one arm and swung it forward dramatically. "I'm right here. COME AND GET ME YOU UGLY BASTARD!!"

The monster roared as in accepting the challenge that Ichigo gave it and sprinted forward. Ichigo, as well, ran forward. His eyes were alive with determination. One thing in his mind remained constant and that was to protect his family from whatever this thing was. Time sped quickly and everything seemed to flow in slow-motion as Ichigo came to a stop and prepared to swing while the thing was still gaining as a hope to catch it before it had a chance to slow down and counter his attack.

When time came back, Ichigo found himself coughing up gushes of blood as an excruciating pain came to his left side. He glanced down and noticed that the thing had chomped down on him on his left side. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. Ichigo watched as he found his whole world spinning out of proportion. Just before he closed his eyes, he thought he saw a familiar girl with a sword jumping down from above and onto the monster's head.

When Ichigo found he was able to open his eyes again, once again he found it difficult to breathe. However, the pain that he had felt before was gone so was the seeping blood from his mouth. Ichigo looked down to inspect himself and found that his wounds were gone yet something else had replaced them.

A medal, octagonal plate with a ringlet attached to a series of chain rings, was centered on the middle of his chest and, after trying to pull on the broken set of chains attached to it, found the thing permanently attached to him.

Ichigo sighed as he got up onto his feet. Looking around, he found himself snapping back to reality as he remembered quickly what was happening before.

However, there was no sign of the monster he was fighting.

Ichigo looked around and when his eyes set onto a particular area i the street his eyes widened and his heart froze. There, lying in the street in a bloodied, disheveled, form was him.

To be continued....

Chapter Two: Ichigo goes to the soul society and once there, tries to locate his mother. The Thirteen Court Gard Squad discovers Ichigo's High spirit energy and sends out a person to approach him to join the Soul Reaper Academy.

A/N: Sorry to cut it short here but I'll be needing to expand this with the start of the second chapter. I know it's slow-going but I'm doing it like this on purpose as to try and formulate the idea as to what would have happened if Rukia hadn't been there and had showed up late. There'll be many changes coming into future chapters. As to what those are, you'll have to wait and see.

A/N: Please read and review

Q-n-P


	2. Destinations

**Companionship of the Strangest Variety**

Chapter Two: Destinations

Ichigo had remained at the spot he was in, still struck in horror at the sight before him.

Reality, it seems had taken a back turn for him as he continued to glimpse at what was before him. However, the shock itself was added by a unsettling revelation as his eyes went down to the metal linkage to his chest which was unmistakably recognizable.

He, was now dead.

Ichigo's mind went into a torrent of thoughts and emotions concerning this. They all consisted of the usual dealings: denial, anger, and then fear. The last emotion griped him as he considered all that was going to happen and how uncertain he was as to where he might be going from here on in. Would he be among the many drifting spirits that only a select few like his sister, Karin, could see but no one else could? Would he never be able to communicate with the others that meant something to him? His dad, Yuzu, Chad, and Tatsuki?

He had no answers before him. He felt eager to breakdown and cry about the situation, but yet his pride overwhelmed that thought and he buried it deep down inside of him.

Deciding to get up off the ground, Ichigo found it a bit easier to breathe once more. His limbs were shaky due to the stress and anxiety he had been feeling, but they seemed to hold him up.

Ichigo looked around and another series of thoughts came to him. One of those being as to how odd it was that the disturbance in the street didn't attract any attention by any of his surrounding neighbors. Glimpsing the area, Ichigo saw that the destruction in the street was significant. The pavement on the ground had been cratered in several areas and there were some power lines that had been knocked down. Not to mention the destruction done to the house.

Ichigo's eyes snapped wide open as something came back to him.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo looked wildly about and soon found her, along with his father and Karin, slouched against once another on the side of the house. There was also another person there.

The girl he remembered dressed in the samurai get-up was standing over them with some sort of odd-looking devise that popped open and a mist came out and hung over the faces of his three family members before dissipating a moment after.

Ichigo then watched as she lifted Karin over her shoulder and began procceding back inside the house.

Snapping out of his stupor, Ichigo followed inside the house and noticed the strange girl carrying Karin up the stairs in the direction of Karin and Yuzu's room. Upon reaching the room, the girl then put Karin in one of the beds, he could only assume she thought that was Karin's; and then pulled up the blankets gently to her.

"Who are you?" Ichigo called out.

The girl snapped her head toward Ichigo and then looked down to the girl. She sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She stated softly.

Ichigo arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Eh? Sorry for what?"

The girl turned to Ichigo, her face grim. "I'm sorry I was too late and that you had to pay with your life, because of it."

Ichigo then slowly remembered about how he had witnessed earlier this same girl defeating another one of those things in front of him. He assumed that by that reference that this was her job or duty. She was in charge of killing those things.

"What are they? Those things that...that..." He was having a hard time to finish his question, but the girl seemed to pick up.

"That killed you?" She asked, her voice monotoned.

Ichigo nodded.

The girl looked down. "They're called Hollows. Spiritual monsters that live only to consume souls."

Ichigo's eyes widened at the information. "Why....did they come here?"

The girl looked at him, studying him under a careful eye before sighing. "They seek out those with a high spirit power, or reiatsu, if you will. I remember you being able to see me earlier today, by the ability to see any kinds of spirit means that you have a significantly high reiatsu level. Reiatsu draws Hollows like a bleeding wound from an animal. It tracked it down until it came here."

Ichigo eyes were wide as his lower lip trembled. "But why my dad! Why Yuzu! They can't see spirits! Why did it hurt them when it was after me?!"

The girl sighed. "Just because they couldn't see spirits doesn't mean that it couldn't detect their reiatsu, no matter how small and insignificant they might be." She gave Ichigo a hard look. "No matter. If it had eaten their souls, it STILL would have came looking for you. Hollows can feed on nearly a hundred souls and still be hungry for more."

Ichigo gulped and looked down at his, seemingly, peacefully resting sister. The girl followed his gaze.

"You can relax. The Hollow didn't manage to eat either of your sister's souls, nor your dad's. You have yourself to thank for that." She added with a sad tone.

Ichigo breathed easier, knowing that, at least, something good came out of his death. They were fine. He turned back to the girl.

"So...What next? I mean, what do I do now? Wander aimlessly like so many other spirits I've seen?"

The girl gave a small smile as she shook her head. "No. Your time in this life has come to an end. Now's the time for you to move on to the next." With the last part being said, she moved her hand to her sword which she removed from its sheath.

Ichigo stared apprehensively at the weapon. "Uh....Wha-What are you going to do with that?"

"Relax." She said as she flipped the blade over her shoulder and had the end of the hilt facing Ichigo. "I'm going to perform the Konso and grant you passage to the Soul Society, your next destination."

Ichigo blinked several times before sighing as he realized that this was it. He held up his hand stopping the girl in the process. He looked to Karin in her bed and then turned and gazed towards the direction he knew where his father and Yuzu would be.

"Dad, Karin, Yuzu; thank you for all that you've for me and for loving me." He gave a formal bow and then took another deep breath before turning back to the mysterious girl.

"Ok....I think I'm ready, now."

The girl nodded.

"Before I go, though, I'd like to ask what your name is."

The girl gave a soft smile. "It's Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki."

Ichigo nodded. "Mine's Ichigo Kurosaki. Thank you, Rukia, for saving my family from that monster."

Rukia, again, nodded and then brought the end of the hilt of her sword to Ichigo's forehead and a stamp appeared between his eyes which lit up and then Ichigo felt his body slowly melting into the ground....

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When Ichigo opened his eyes he found himself huddled with several others standing in a clearing in some sort of village that looked to be out the the Meji or Edo eras.

Looking around, he noticed that the place they were now in was vastly populated. Children could be seen running around the street and the ages, races, and appearances ranged all over the place. Everyone was dressed in either kimonos or loose-fitted clothing.

Looking at the others in his group and then at himself, Ichigo noticed that his own clothes had been changed to resemble those being worn in this "Soul Society".

Looking ahead, he noticed that there was a man standing in front of them dressed in the same fashion as that Rukia girl. He spoke loudly, addressing Ichigo and the others with him.

"Welcome to the Soul Society, your new life. This here, where we're in, is called the East Rukon District. Forget about your previous identities in the past as you'll no doubt find that they have no bearing here. Many who've come to the Soul Society from the World of the Living live new lives here, make new families, and create new identities for themselves. You may find some you recognize who've passed before you, but remember, as time goes on here, your memories of yourt past life begin to fade with time. So don't be surprised if you don't get recognized by someone you loved or cared about in your past life not identifying you." The man pointed across the square to the mountainous-like wall that seemed to run on for miles in each direction. "That," He said, "Is the wall protecting the Seiretei, home of Soul Reapers like me and the Thirteen Court Guard Squad or Gotei Thirteen. You'll find many Soul Reapers on patrol here about so the Seireitei will be of little concern to you. However, should you be approached as a potential candidate, you'll be given a special pass allowing you passage to the Seireitei and the Soul Reaper Academy. In any case, should the wall be lifted, no one will be allowed in. Those who try to breach it will find their lives forfeited." He gave all members of the group a hard glare.

He went on about certai rules and class systems in the Soul Society but Ichigo refrained from listening as his eyes looked towards the massive wall.

'Huh, so they're 'Soul Reapers' and that's where they're from.' He then sighed and turned his attention back to the Soul Reaper in front.

"....And above all else, don't get into a fight with a patrolling Soul Reaper. You'll wished you hadn't. All right, that's all there is. Next thing for you all to do is to find housing for yourselves. Ask around and I'm sure you'll find boarding places that exchange work for residence." He then gave a smirk before turning away. "May you all lead happy lives." With those last words, he left.

While others in the group began to leave, Ichigo remained rooted. The whole thing confused him.

So he was dead, yet alive in some way?

It was all confusing to him, yet, here he was. From what he gathered, everyone who entered the Soul Society had to leave their past life behind them. Did that mean he'd cease to being Ichigo Kurosaki?

Ichigo shook his head. No. He'd remain Ichigo. He was proud for being named as someone who protects. After all he had proved that by dieing for his family, much like him mom had for him.

Ichigo's back stiffened as that memory came.

His mother.

The Soul Reaper said that those who enter the Soul Society would recognize people they've lost, should they come across them. However, there wasn't any guarantee that they'd find them right away.

Ichigo was determined. Now, with a goal in mind, he decided to set out and find him mother, Masaki Kurosaki.

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In the Seireitei, in the Thirteenth Squad Division, the captain of the squad, Jushiro Ukitake was reading over the report handed to him by one of his men that had led the new souls into the Soul Society.

Each squad of the seiretei had their own duties along with patrolling and protecting the Soul Society. The Thirteenth's, primarily, was to sweep out Hollows in the living world and to keep track of new souls entering the Soul Society with the potential reiatsu to becoming future Soul Reapers.

In his latest report concerning the latter, Ukitake found such a finding. However, the potential candidate containing the high spiritual pressure, could not be identified through the crowd he or she was in. That made things harder yet not impossible.

According to the report, apparently, the spiritual pressure being given off by this individual was high enough that it should be able to be sought out through random questioning. Many of those in the Soul Society are sensitive when it came to the awareness of someone containing high spiritual pressure as it could leave them either winded or feeling sick in some cases.

Ukitake now had the duty of deciding who to send out on this venture. His long white hair draped his shoulder as he tilted his head to the side resting a propped up arm against his head. He began running through names when a knock came to his door.

"Come on in, Kiyone." He called out, recognizing the reiatsu of one of his seated officers immediately.

The door slid open and inside came a short girl with short, light dirty-blond hair; she came down to her knee in front of his desk.

"Captain," She began. "Sentaro has taken over my groups training! He refuses to let me do my duty!" Her face was flustered as she ended her little tantrum yet her eyes were firm and hopeful that something would come and go into her favor.

Ukitake sighed and groaned. His subordinates could be a pain with their child-like behavior. Glancing at Kiyone however, he smirked as a thought came to mind one which would help solve his problem and also give him a respite from his two third seats constant fighting.

"Kiyone, I have something else I'd like you to do."

Kiyone stood up straight and at attention.

"I want you to go into the East Rukon District and locate an individual whose spiritual pressure is larger than normal and recruit him into entering the Soul Reaper Academy." He finished whilst folding his hands in front of him and bracing himself for what was about to come next.

Kiyone blinked several times at her captain with a confounded look. She then threw her arms up in the air.

"Are you serious, Captain! Please, no! That sort of duty is usually reserved for someone in a much lower ranked seating! Please don't make me do this! Better yet, send Senatro!"

Uktiake took in a sharp intake of breath which would normally send him into one of his rigorous coughing fits, but he was in control today. He looked at Kiyone Koetsu with sharp eyes which gave no room for argument.

"This is an order, Kiyone. You will go and find this person and recruit them for the Soul Reaper Academy and may not return until you've accomplished this mission. Am I perfectly clear?"

Kiyone cringed and the firmness and finality in her Captain's voice and expression. She sighed in defeat before straightening up again and then nodded. "Hai, Captain." She then bowed and then left.

To be continued......

A/N: This was short and I apologize. But it did serve its purpose. There will be cut scenes maybe in the next chapter, if not the one following, showing Rukia's month in Karakura Town and what's been happening in the lives of Ichigo's family. Urahara, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu will be a part of this story yet their role will be significantly smaller.

A/N II: Does anyone know what Kiyone's shikai's like and or named?

Q-n-P


	3. The lifechanging Onsen

Chapter Three: The life-changing Onsen

It had been nearly three weeks since Ichigo arrived in the Soul Society.

Nearly three weeks since he had died.

Through out this time, Ichigo remained vigilant in his pursuit of his mother, Masaki Kurosaki.

It soon became apparent to Ichigo, when he first started on this task that the odds were pretty much against him. One of the things he learned when he began asking around and giving a description of his mother was that there were literally thousands that fit her description. It was like trying to find a grain of salt in a sand dune.

The other thing he learned was that not everyone arrived in the same district of the Rukon as Ichigo had came in. There were numerous other areas and also there were different towns scattered around the wall of the Seireitei that Masaki Kurosaki could have came into as well. Eight years could make things even harder as people's memories dwindle with time.

Ichigo was persistent, though. Getting work as a dock helper in the fishing business, he found it easier to travel to other parts and also to ask more people around with the description of his mother. However, as people's memories in the Soul Society go, Ichigo was finding his recollection of both his memories of his mother and that of her face seem to become hazier as the days passed; things that used to be in fine detail became scattered and muddled. Thus, Ichigo wrote down everything he knew and also drew a rough portrait of her to remind himself, should his memories leave him entirely.

He found that his memories of his mother weren't the only things that were now beginning to leave him. His days when he was alive had slowly become alien to him. What he once could recall of his earlier memories have now become less and less. He could, now, only recount his family and his friends in school and events leading him to starting junior high school, plus everything that followed after that to the where he was now.

Walking down a street with his hands in the sleeves of his brown kimono, Ichigo was enjoying what would be a day off for him from working with the fishing crew in the West Side of the Rukon District. They were supposedly in port for a week or so, but there was always the possibility that they'd leave sooner if need be.

Ichigo sighed as he thought of that. Working on the boat, loading fishing nets in, was not THAT daunting of a task; yet it was tiring at times.

Walking through the district square, looking at all the crowded areas, Ichigo felt a twinge of nostalgia as he remembered the fire works festival that he and his family used to attend in the summers. They too were crowded and he remembered Yuzu and Karin going wild for all the paraphernalia that would be sold on the street corners in Karakura.

Ichigo stopped as he held his head in frustration as he tried to remember what his sisters would almost always buy at the stands.

It was…They were….

"Dammit!" He shouted.

People around him stopped and looked at his curiously as he continued clutching his head, shaking it back and forth in anger and even more frustration.

* * *

Kiyone was getting irritated.

Having spent almost a month trying to track down the wayward soul that had a high reiatsu, she felt as if she were a rat stuck inside a maze and the wafting smell of cheese was leading her blindly to one dead end after the other.

Whoever this guy was, Kiyone seemed to be three or more steps behind him as he seemed to constantly change his direction one right after the other.

She had counted herself lucky that she had at least been able to get an adequate description on the guy.

Having a week ago interview a man who gave her a description that matched three other ones she had heard, was one of a young man with bright orange hair who seemed to have an obsession going on with asking about for a particular person whom he knew when he was alive.

Kiyone guessed that his pursuit of this person was the reason for his constant change in direction and thus leading Kiyone around like a blind beggar.

Walking through the West Rukon District, Kiyone decided to rest herself against a wall in the square and maybe, despite how unlikely it would be; see if she could spot the person she was looking for as this was his latest location.

As with many crowded areas, the volume in the area Kiyone was in was high. Chatter was abundant and Kiyone found herself wrapped up in attention as she caught some of what was being said by a pair of middle aged women.

She didn't catch all that they had said, but what had initially drawn her in was their talking of a guy who was making a commotion in the street earlier and that his reiatsu nearly suffocated them. That and that he seemed to be a unique individual with bright orange hair.

Quickly getting up and rushing towards them with renewed vigor, Kiyone shouted.

"Hey! Wait! Do you know where this guy went?"

The two women stared at her for her having shouted at them, but once they saw her Soul Reaper attire, they quickly bowed and spoke.

"Well, he was here half an hour ago. I believe he was headed in the direction of the onsen at the end of the street. Most going in that direction, who don't live in the vicinity, usually end up there." The woman with her hair braided replied.

Kiyone gave out a sigh of relief and bowed and thanked the two women before getting a second wind and began sprinting off towards the onsen, lest the guy escape her once again.

Hope was building up inside of her as, if he was indeed there, she could complete her task and finally be able to return to the Seireitei and be at her Captain's beckoning. It had pained her for being away for so long and it irritated her that Sentaro would be abusing her Captain's time.

Upon arriving at the onsen, which was a small one-storied establishment with the hot spring in the back, Kiyone came in and went to the front desk and asked if the person she was searching for had came in and was still inside.

The woman in front of her, an elderly woman with graying features, along with wrinkles; smiled serenely.

"Why yes, the person whom you described is in here and is still making use of our hot spring."

Kiyone gave another sigh of relief.

"Where is the hot spring located?"

The woman's look of tranquility disappeared as one of suspicion replaced it.

"Why may I ask?"

Kiyone sighed, inwardly. She knew that there were those who resented Soul Reapers and what they did as a lot acted with an arrogant air of authority. Kiyone had never, but she knew a number of those who did as a habit.

"I need to talk with him." She replied. Hoping that what she said was all it took to sway the woman's suspiciousness and contempt.

The woman's smile reappeared. "Alright, then. He's down the hall and to the left. You can leave your clothes in the changing room right next to it, before going in."

Kiyone's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?"

The woman's smile remained. "I didn't stutter, dear. You can change for the hot springs in the room opposite to the entry to the springs itself. I'll collect your clothes when you are done and you may come and pick them up when you are through and are ready to pay for your visit."

Kiyone hung her head. Of course, this woman wouldn't allow her to go in there without being a paying customer. She could just sit outside and wait for the guy to be done and approach him then. However, the orange-haired idiot never stayed long enough in a certain spot for Kiyone to hone in on him and do what she was assigned to do. Therefore, there was a risk she might miss him again.

Sighing in defeat, she nodded and proceeded to the room opposite the entryway to the hot springs. Inside she found many stalls for people to change out of their garments and into towels that were provided in bins in each changing room.

Kiyone grimaced as she closed the door, locking it, and began to undress. Normally, in less private places she hated showing off her form as she felt self-conscious about her small appearance. Having adopted a more tom-boyishness attitude about herself, much like her sister, than, say, those like Rangiku Matsumoto of the Tenth Division; she never really tried to be girly most of the time and being in such a public place such as this, she felt even more awkward.

Wrapping the towel around her frame, she sighed as she concentrated on her objective more than the insecurities she was scrutinizing about herself.

Walking to the door and opening it, she peeked through a crack in the door before walking out and turning towards the entrance to the hot springs.

Taking in a deep breath, she slid the door open to the outside.

Once open, her eyes widened as a thought soon came to her.

This was a unisex hot spring!

Normally, in most onsens, there was a divided wall to separate the genders to allow privacy and dissuade gawking. However, there were rare places such as this one where the wall was seemingly taken down and allowed both men and women the comfort of taking their baths together and being able to converse without having to talk to a wall.

Kiyone, in all her experiences, had never been in such a setting such as this.

However, duty over personal matters overwhelmed her as one thought gripped her in fervor: Once this was done and over with, she could go home and never have to experience this sort of thing ever again.

Gripping her towel tightly and more securely, Kiyone proceeded out to the waters, her eyes alert and searching for her mysterious person to whom she was instructed to recruit to become a Soul Reaper like herself. To her relief, he was easy to find due to his enormous reiatsu which was over-powering, much like the people whom she interviewed said. They were right in their description as, had she been unaware, she would have mistaken him for a third seat or lieutenant.

He seemed to be in an unoccupied part of the hot spring, away from others which were heavily grouped in the area closest to the grounds leading to the entrance inside the onsen.

Going inside the water, which Kiyone took a second to enjoy the sudden warmth before proceeding forward, she wallowed her way towards where he was at. Through a dense outlining through the mist that came off the water, she could make out where he was. Soon, she found him leaning back against the rocky area, his head extended back and resting on some rocks as he seemed to be breathing in the vapors surrounding the area.

Still clutching at her towel in an effort to make sure nothing would be seen and to avoid any sudden embarrassing moments; Kiyone came closer to where she was just a few feet from him before receding back to the rocks to where she was three feet from his side.

Taking a moment for closer observation, Kiyone gaped a bit at how brilliantly bright his orange hair was. Never before had she seen anyone with hair of that color. Taking in more of him, she noticed that he had more than an appropriate build for someone his age. His body tone suggested that he did a lot of strenuous work, most likely something involving strenuous activity. She still couldn't see his face due to the angle of his head and because of his damp hair clinging to his eyes. However, he seemed to stir and moan before sighing and bringing his head up.

Kiyone starred at the guy. His features…They looked like….

The guy seem to finally notice she was there as he looked at her with a curious expression that soon turned to irritation at the lack of introduction or speaking between them as time passed on.

"Are you going to be staring at me like that forever?" He asked.

Kiyone shook herself from her sudden stupor as she tried to regain control over her thinking process.

"Uh, no, I mean yes. Yes, I'll stop. I'm sorry."

The guy looked at her quizzically before sighing.

"Is there something you wanted?"

Despite herself, Kiyone couldn't but help to marvel at the sudden similarities between this guy and someone she came to admire long ago. Someone important, not only to her, but to her entire division.

She suddenly pinched herself knowing she was asked a question. Composing herself better, she began what she had initially had set out to do.

"What's your name?"

The guy took in a look at her. Thankfully, for Kiyone, he wasn't the type to be staring at her body. If he was, he was being awfully subtle about it.

"Ichigo." He replied.

She nodded. "Well, Ichigo, my name's Kotetsu Kiyone. I'm a Soul Reaper with the Thirteenth Divison."

That seemed to get his attention as he focused on her more.

Kiyone continued, "One of my division's responsibilities is to recruit those who enter the Soul Society that have high spiritual energy, or reiatsu, to enter the Soul Reaper Academy and begin their journey to becoming a Soul Reaper." She paused to see what his reaction would be after that.

Ichigo starred at her this time before chuckling, darkly.

"Great…Just great. My stupid…reiatsu gets me attention once again. Well, at least this time no one's dying, I guess."

Kiyone could never have expected an answer like that. Never in a million years.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Ichigo looked at her and sighed.

"It doesn't matter."

Kiyone felt a little annoyed that he didn't answer her, but decided to let it slide as she continued her objective.

"Well, alright. But you should know that it's rare for someone, such as yourself, to have such a high reiatsu in the first place. Many who come to the Soul Society don't. In any case, it's what my Captain is looking for when seeking out potential Soul Reaper candidates."

Ichigo seemed bored by the conversation, which didn't surprise Kiyone as she was never good at being a sales pitcher. She decided to wrap it up. A yes or no would suffice and either one would lead her back to the Seireitei.

"So, what do you say?"

Ichigo closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the rocks once more before opening them and breathing in slowly. From the corner of his eye he observed the girl before looking away again. He really didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to flat out refuse the offer, but something inside of him was causing him to hesitate.

What, he didn't know.

Sighing, he lifted his head back up again and turned to the short-haired girl.

"Before I answer, I have something I'd like to ask."

Kiyone, seeing his mood change, perked up a little at a chance to end this quickly and get back home.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Do….Soul Reapers have a way of locating someone who had entered the Soul Society awhile back?"

Kiyone looked at him, wondering what could have brought on this question. She then remembered the things she knew about him, that he was looking for a person throughout all the Soul Society and it was what kept him moving so much.

Kiyone closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but we don't do that sort of thing. It'd be nice, I agree, but with all else we're in charge with doing, it's be too time-consuming. I'm sorry." She opened her eyes and looked at the guy seeing his eyes downcast into the water, a look of disappointment apparent.

Kiyone fidgeted as she adjusted her towel. She really didn't know why, but for some reason she felt guilty for having disappointed this Ichigo person. Maybe, for some reason or another, it was because of who he looked like, as his image was beginning to be unsettling in some ways to her.

"I won't give up." He whispered, causing her to look at him with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked.

Ichigo looked back at her with a scowl.

"I don't care if the odds are against me, I don't care. I know she's out there, somewhere."

Kiyone was at a loss for words. She continued to watch as Ichigo looked down at the water and then slammed at it with his fist.

"I have to see her! I have to tell her that I'm sorry that-" He stopped in mid-sentence as he then looked confused. His eyes, then, darted back and forth from left to right and then he growled as he scrunched his eyes shut and then clutched at his head.

He then began shouting.

"Aw! Not…again! Why can't I remember! Please, not this too!"

Kiyone could only look at him now with pity as it became clear what he was going through as she had seen it happen with so many others who've entered the Soul Society from the World of the Living. Memory loss, the loss of identity of who you once were; it was amongst the many reasons why Soul Reapers refused to aid in helping souls find their lost ones as those same souls soon lost all traces of who they were, thus their searches became unnecessary. However, many refused to accept their death from their previous world and refused to move on. That's what made their inevitable memory loss all the more sad.

Kiyone waited patiently for Ichigo to stop his little episode before talking to him once more. When he finally calmed down and his breathing became easier, she finally addressed what needed to be told to him.

"It's only going to get worse, you know."

Ichigo looked at her with a cold look but it soon changed to one of tiredness. He nodded, reluctantly.

"In the end, will it have been worth it? Taking all this time to search for someone, you'll most likely never find?"

Ichigo sighed and looked away from Kiyone off somewhere into the distance.

"I don't know."

Kiyone, for some reason or another, chose at that moment to move closer to him and then put a hand onto his shoulder. She gave a soft smile.

"You'll end up making yourself more miserable in the end when your memories have finally left you and all you'll have is your name."

Ichigo looked at her with tired eyes as he closed them and sighed.

"But," Kiyone continued, "You do have an option, a great option. You can come and be a Soul Reaper, create a new and possibly better identity for yourself than the one you had before. C'mon, what do you say?"

Ichigo looked off into the distance once more. She was right and he knew it. No matter how driven he was to finding his mother, his memories would soon leave him quicker than he'd be able to find her. He could only shudder at what would become of him shortly after that. Thinking about what was being offered to him, he slowly began to consider it as a possibility. His death, at the jaws of those Hollows, would be something he'd want anyone, soul or otherwise; to never have to experience. He could be a Soul Reaper and fight those things.

Turning back to the Soul Reaper, he was surprised, if not a little stunned and embarrassed, to see that she still had her hand on his shoulder. Then, the environment in which they were in soon came crashing down on him as he realized the not so subtle implications of the whole thing and began to blush brightly as he looked at her hand.

Kiyone, seeing Ichigo's blush, looked puzzled at first to why he was acting this way, when she finally realized she had been holding onto his shoulder for longer than necessary. She too blushed as she quickly withdrew her hand and turned around quickly.

"S-So, what do you say?" She asked, trying hard to get over the moment.

Ichigo closed his eyes and then nodded. "I guess….you're right."

Kiyone turned her head to the side to look at him from the corner of her eye.

"I think becoming a Soul Reaper would be the best thing for me now. I really don't have any better options now, do I?"

Kiyone smiled as she turned back around and nodded.

"You may be losing something important, something that you feel really matters as memories of your past life, but trust me when I say that, in this life, one you'll start as a Soul Reaper; things will, eventually, get better. I'm sure of it."

Ichigo nodded and for the first time since he had arrived in the Soul Society, he gave a smile.

Kiyone, once again gaped at Ichigo. His smile, one so reminiscent of one that she cherished every time it had been bestowed upon her by that person who every person in her division had fallen in love with and respected.

Who was this Ichigo? And why was he so much like….

Ichigo, unaware of Kiyone's internal emotions running rampant, turned away and sighed as he looked out to the sky above. The sun was beginning to go down and he had just had made a life-altering choice for himself in his new life.

To be continued….

A/N: I'll have to apologize for two things regarding this chapter. Well, maybe more than two things. One of the things I'll apologize for was how ooc Kiyone was. I'll admit, she was less than boisterous and more stable than her canon character normally is. She will behave like her normal self in chapters to come. It was only in this, for the purpose I had her in changing Ichigo's direction in life, that she'd behave in this sort of way and have a certain air about her that's a mixture of wisdom and experience. The other thing I'll apologize for are two things, one being how uneventful this was, but yet it did serve its purpose as, again, to show how Ichigo decides to join in and become a Soul Reaper. Lastly, this whole chapter was actually meant to be stretched out for at least several before the actual meeting of Ichigo and Kiyone. I abandoned that as I felt that I didn't want to drag things out for longer than they normally should.

Enough of me talking. Lol. Now's the time for you all to review and give me your insights on this chapter. The next chapter will be up as of next week, hopefully.

Q-n-P

Next chapter, Chapter Four: Takaya Ichigo, Soul Reaper


	4. Meetings and Departures

Chapter Four: Meetings and Departures

Ichigo found his experience traveling with one Kiyone Kotetsu, hell; for a lack for a better term.

He didn't know what bothered him more, her childish tantrums towards his slow pace or her talking in her sleep. That and the fact that the two of them could not hold a decent conversation without it leading off into a brawl with words; the travel had surely left a lot to be desired.

Ichigo found it amazing that he got any sleep at all on the trip.

"Tell me, _Strawberry_, do you think you'll be able to get away being this slow when you enter the Soul Reaper Academy? Well guess what? You won't!"

It was a hot afternoon and rather unforgivable. Both of them had run out of Ryo to take the usual methods of transportation. Due mostly to the fact that Kiyone seemed to have a penchant for whatever designer, elbow-length, gloves she could spot in whatever part of the Kichigai district they were in. This led to her being broke and Ichigo having to use everything he had to pay for their lodge stays and for food. Soon, they were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

"I mean, if I knew you were going to be _this_slow, I would have brought along a Captain to shun-po us-"

"SHUT UP, DAMMIT!" Ichigo shouted, glaring at her with all intensity.

"What?! What did you say to me, rust-head?!" Kiyone shouted back, glaring right back at him while standing on her tip-toes to try to get in his face.

"You heard me, pip-squeak!" Ichigo responded, bending over to be close to her face.

Minutes seemed to waste away as they continued their "glare-off".

"Man, you two are sure loud, aren't you?" Said a voice behind them.

"Well, what do you expect from two who behave so ugly?" Said another.

"WHO ASKED YOU?!" Ichigo and Kiyone shouted in unison as they turned their heads in the direction of the voices.

However, Ichigo's glare turned into a frown as he observed the two figures in front of him. One was bald and his head shimmered in the afternoon's sunlight. He had weird red markings on the corners of his eyes and held a zanpaktou in its sheath on his shoulder. He wore a very predatory-like grin on his face as he seemed to be eyeing Ichigo with interest, as if sizing him up. His partner was even more peculiar as he had weird multi-colored strands or, eyelashes, coming out from the corner of his eye and had a bizarre orange wrist guard attached to a neck-warmer by a strand by the same color.

It was obvious, despite their eccentric appearance, that the two of them were Soul Reapers.

Ichigo looked over both of them oddly before turning to Kiyone for introduction or an explanation for their meeting them. However, it seemed Kiyone was in no mood to explain Ichigo anything as she was openly glaring at the two while visibly, and loudly; grinding her teeth.

"Hey, Ikkaku, haven't we seen this puny girl before?" The colorful-eyebrows guy asked.

Ikkaku chuckled as he approached Ichigo and Kiyone slowly, like a viper slithering through a hedge grove.

"Yeah….I think we have. I think she's part of that sorry excuse for a division, second only to the fourth division, the thirteenth division."

Kiyone growled loudly, her left hand slowly going for the hilt of her own zanpaktou.

"Oh, I remember now. You're right; they are a pretty sad bunch, indeed. Captain's hanging by a thread's breath, their lieutenant killed by a mere hollow; yeah, they're a downright pitiful and ugly division. Truly, they could have been better if only they had been born beautiful." He states as he runs his fingers through his hair, making an effeminate pose.

Ichigo blinked at the pair of them.

"What the hell are you two freaks, anyways? Is the circus in town, or what?" He then turned to Kiyone and gestured with his head in their direction. "Yo, Kotetsu, who are these two bozos?"

Ikkaku turned his head to the person he hadn't really considered as a tick-mark appeared above his head towards the name he had called them. However, this mark disappeared as his face contorted into a confused frown as he observed the person before him. While, despite his hair color, there was nothing particularly remarkable about him, but, on closer observation; Ikkaku could see that the boy was stout, built for strenuous activity and seemed to hold himself as a person whose seen his share of brawls. Also, there was his reiatsu, which surprised Ikkaku as it was so stagnant and overpowering; it amazed him that he failed to detect it when coming into the pairs' vicinity.

Ikkaku looked to his partner, Yumichika, to see if he was feeling the same as himself. A quick nod showed that he did.

"They're nobodies, Kurosaki. Just a couple of hot-headed grunts from the Eleventh Division. Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa." She scowled at them.

Ikkaku chuckled, "Well, that's pretty brave of you to call the best fighting squad of the Gotei's best fighters "hot heads". Other than your captain and your deceased lieutenant, none of you could even come up to par with any of us."

Kiyone snorted. "Whatever, now, if you don't mind, we need to be headed back to the Seireitei." Just as she was making her way to go past them, Ikkaku stepped in front and blocked their path with his sheathed sword.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty." He then turned to Ichigo who was looking confounded as to the look he was being given by Ikkaku.

"You. What's your name?"

Ichigo sighed. "It's Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ikkaku smirked, "Ichigo, huh? I take it that this brat's taking you to the Seireitei to be enlisted into the Soul Reaper Academy, am I right?"

Ichigo nodded in the affirmative.

Ikkaku nodded as well. "Well then, Ichigo, pint-size" he grinned at Kiyone who looked menacingly at him. "You two take care now." With that he nodded to Yumichika and the two of them disappeared in a blur.

Once they had gone, Ichigo sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Tell me, are all the Soul Reapers as bizarre as those two clowns are?"

Kiyone sighed. "It varies."

The two of them, then, continued their journey onward and soon reached the western gate to the Seireitei.

Stepping in and on through, Ichigo looked around and marveled at how everything looked on the inside. It was a big understatement on how lavish it was compared to the impoverished look to the rest of the Soul Society on the outside.

Kiyone continued to lead him through various streets, populated by many groups of Soul Reapers.

Ichigo, for the most part, took in every sight and tried cataloguing it for future reference as he knew this place was soon going to be his life and future.

After going through more and more areas, they soon stopped in front of a massive three-storied building that stretched many miles in both directions.

"Well, this is it." Kiyone said. She then dug into he pocket and produced a scroll and handed it to Ichigo. "Here's your letter of introduction as well as your permission to attend by my Captain, Jushiro Ukitake."

Ichigo looked at the scroll in his hand and then nodded to Kiyone.

"Take care, Kurosaki, and good luck." She then made to turn and leave but was stopped by Ichigo's voice.

"Will we ever see each other again?"

Kiyone turned back and looked at Ichigo, his back turned to her, in confusion. She then thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Can'ty promise anything, Ichigo. Maybe."

Ichigo nodded. "It's just that, it'd be nice to know at least one person here. Not that I need a puny brat like you around me all the time." He turned around and smirked at her.

Kiyone smirked as well. "I think I can live without seeing your rust-colored head all the time. Not to mention your smell."

Ichigo chuckled, "Well then, see you later, Kotetsu Kiyone." He then waived at her before turning and proceeding into the building. Leaving Kiyone watching his retreating figure.

Kiyone stood in silence, watching not only Ichigo but a pale image of the form of her former lieutenant retreating into the building alongside him.

'Why?'

To becontinued…..

A/N: Sorry for the length of this chapter, as well as the mundane events that are in it. This was actually meant to be apart of a larger expantion of the previous chapter. Unfortuately, I wasn't able to have it put in for some odd reason. Oh well, win some, lose some. Please review, regardless.

Q-n-P


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